Thor Odinson (Earth-616)
Real Name: Thor Odinson Nicknames: Scion of Asgard, God of Thunder, The Mighty Thor Former Aliases: Dr. Donald Blake; Sigurd Jarlson; Jake Olsen; Donar the Mighty Other Aliases at Time of Death: None Status Occupation: King of Asgard; formerly EMS Technician (as Olsen); Physician (as Blake) Legal Status: Citizen of Asgard Identity: Public. The vast majority does not believe Thor is really a mythological god. Marital Status: Marital status unknown Known Relatives: Odin (father), Gaea, (mother), Frigga (step-mother), Loki (half-brother), Atum (half brother), Vidar (half brother) Group Affiliation: Avengers Base of Operations: New York, New York Origin Thor is one of the Asgardians, an extra-dimensional race of beings who were worshipped as gods by the Germans, Vikings and Scandinavians, who was forced to learn a lesson in humility by living life as a human. Place of Birth: A cave located somewhere in Norway First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery I #83 History Early Life Thor is the bloodson of Odin, lord of the gods of Asgard, and Jord, who is also known as Gaea, the elder goddess of the Earth. Odin sought to father a son whose power would derive from Earth as well as Asgard, and hence he sought to mate with Jord. Odin created a cave in Norway where Jord gave birth to Thor. Months after the infant Thor was weaned. Odin brought him to Asgard to be raised. From that time onward Odin's wife, the goddess Frigga, acted as Thor's mother. Not until recent years did Thor learn that Jord was his mother. A severed eye of Odin once grew to great size, achieved sentience, and informed Thor that another Thor had existed before the current Thor's birth. This previous Thor was also the son of Odin, but had red hair, not blond hair like the current Thor. This previous Thor is said to have killed the Midgard Serpent, and to have been killed himself by the dying monster's venom, at Ragnarok, the destruction of a previous version of Asgard. Odin himself was killed, but a new Odin appeared in the place of several gods who survived Ragnarok, and it was this new Odin who fathered the current version of Thor. Possibly these previous versions of Odin and Thor were earlier physical incarnations of the Odin and Thor of today. However, this account of Thor's origin by the severed eye of Odin may very well be entirely false. The eye's motives for constructing such a story, if it is false, are unknown. The young Thor was raised alongside Loki, who had been adopted by Odin after Loki's father, the Frost Giant Laufey, had been killed in battle. From childhood Loki was jealous of Thor, and his hatred of Thor grew over the years to a wish to destroy him. Thus began Loki's enmity for Thor, which persists to this day. When Thor was eight, Odin sent him to Nidavellir, the land of the dwarves, to bid the dwarves Brokk and Eitri to create three treasures for Asgard's ruler. Among the three treasures that Brokk and Eitri created was the uru hammer Mjolnir (although Loki sabotaged the creation of the hammer so that its handle was made too short). Odin bestowed various enchantments upon the hammer, including one that made it impossible for anyone to lift it except someone who was truly worthy of wielding it. Odin then declared that he was reserving the use of Mjolnir for Thor, who would receive it on the day that great deeds of selfless valor had proved him worthy of it. For years Thor strove to become strong and worthy enough to wield the hammer, and was responsible for many heroic deeds. Finally, when Thor was sixteen, Odin presented him with the hammer, declaring he was indeed worthy of it. Thor became Asgard's greatest warrior. Before Thor was twenty, he had fallen in love with the goddess Sif. however, at some point their romance came to an end, although they have renewed it in recent years. Sometime in the 9th Century AD, Thor journey to Earth for the first time and promoted his worship among the Vikings. Both the Norsemen and the Germans, who called him Donner, came to worship Thor and other Asgardians. Thor actively encouraged the adulation of his Viking worshippers for years, and also encouraged them to find glory in battle. But finally, Thor discovered that a part of his Viking worshippers had slaughtered the inhabitants of a Christian monastery. Shocked, realizing that some of his more zealous worshippers were committing atrocities like this one hi his name, Thor withdrew from Earthly activities altogether, and allowed the worship of the gods of Asgard to die out. According to the severed eye of Odin, Odin himself later caused Thor to live on Earth in the mortal guises of the Germanic heroes Siegmund and his son, Siegfried. In these two roles, Thor played a major role id Odin's efforts to regain the dangerously powerful Ring of the Nibelung. Siegmund was killed by the warrior Hunding, but Thor was reborn as Siegfried, the son of Siegmund and his lover Sieglinda. Siegfried took possession of the Ring after killing the giant Fafnir, who guarded it in the guise of a dragon. (This Fafnir is not to be confused with the former king of Nastrond). Siegfried then fell in love with the Valkyrie Brunnhilde, but was murdered by Hagen, the son of Alberich, the dwarf who had created the Ring and placed a curse upon it. Odin, however, resurrected Siegfried as Thor, who again had his full godly powers, but wiped out Thor's memory of his two mortal identities. It is unclear how much, if any, of this account by Odin's severed eye is true. Thor led an active, adventurous life in Asgard, doing battle with Frost Giants and other enemies of the realm. But Odin grew increasingly dissatisfied with Thor's headstrong behavior and excessive pride. On one occasion Thor violated a truce between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants, thereby nearly starting a war. finally, while Thor was engaged in a brawl in an Asgardian tavern, Odin summoned him to his presence. Modern Age Odin had decided that it was time Thor learned humility. Odin had Thor surrender his hammer to him, and then sent him to Earth in the mortal guise of a crippled young medical student named Donald Blake, stripped of his memory of his true identity. As Blake, Thor learned the value of humble perseverance in dealing with his injured leg, and he came to care for the sick and dying, first as a medical student, and later as a successful physician. After leaving medical school, Blake opened a private practice in New York, and quickly gained renown as a great surgeon. After Thor had spent ten years in the role of Blake, Odin planted within Blake's mind the suggestion to take a vacation in Norway. There Blake encountered a party of alien Kronans, also known as the Stone Men from Saturn. Blake fled from the Kronans into a cavern, the very same one that had served as Thor's birthplace millennia ago, where Odin had left Thor's hammer in the enchanted form of a wooden cane. Trapped in the cavern by a great bolder, Blake struck the boulder with the cane in frustrated anger, and was transformed back into his true godly form of Thor. As Thor he escaped the cavern and drove off the Kronans. At first Thor still had no memory of his past life as an Asgardian gods, although as months passed, more of his memories returned. Finally, a few years later, Odin revealed to him the false nature of the Blake identity and the reason for it. Thor maintained his Blake identity on Earth and continued his medical practice. Part of his affinity for Earth was his subconscious realization that his maternal heritage was on this world. The other part was simply his love for humanity and his need to experience those things that only mortals could know. Thor came to divide his time between Earth and Asgard, and does so to this day. For years, Thor was in love with Jane Foster, who worked as a nurse for Blake. Odin disapproved of Thor's love for this mortal, but eventually the romance between Thor and Foster came to an end, and Thor renewed his past relationship with Sif. That relationship has suffered strains in recent years, and it is unclear what path it may take in the future. Thor was a founding member of the team of superhuman champions known as the Avengers, and has continued to serve with the team from time to time through the present. Recently Thor gave up his identity as Don Blake. In fact, Odin transferred the enchantment enabling Thor to change into mortal form and back from Thor's hammer to that of his ally and alien counterpart, Beta Ray Bill. With the Aid of Nick Fury, Public Director of SHIELD, Thor has adopted a new "secret identity," that of construction worker, Sigurd Jarlson. Thor does not actually become mortal in his Jarlson identity; he simply dresses as a normal contemporary Earthman and wears glasses. Later, Thor had grown a beard to conceal the terrible scars left on his face due to wounds inflicted by the Asgardian death goddess Hela. Hela has since healed the scars on his face and Thor has shaved himself smooth again. After Odin disappeared during his battle with Surtur, the people of Asgard wished to make Thor, Odin's designated heir, their new ruler. Unwilling to give up his guardianship of Earth or his life of adventure, at least not yet, Thor declined the offer and instead nominated his friend Balder the Brave to be Asgard's ruler. Balder ruled until Odin returned and reclaimed the throne. For a time, Thor was merged with the human Eric Masterson, an architect who first met Thor as Jarlson. The two men would exchange bodies using Mjolnir, as Thor had done before as Blake. After Loki attempted to kill Susan Austin, the woman who cared for Eric's son, Thor became furious and slew Loki. As punishment, he was exiled from Earth, and Eric Masterson was given the thunder god's power to continue in the role of Thor. Eventually, after Loki reappeared, Eric was able to find Thor, who had been hidden within Eric's own subconsciousness, and rescued him from exile. Eric had proven himself to be a hero in his own right, and Odin rewarded him with the enchanted mace Thunderstrike. Taking Thunderstrike as his alias, Eric continued to serve as a hero on Earth until he died heroically after battling the Egyptian death god Seth. Thor grieved for Eric, who had been the closes friend he had made among humanity. Odin and Thor eventually learned that the constant shift of identity and sharing of power Odin had encouraged had driven Thor insane, marked by the appearance of a Valkyrie who was a manifestation of Thor's insanity. With the assistance of Adam Warlock and Dr Strange, Thor regained his sanity, and Odin came to realize the error he had made. Once again attempting to thwart Ragnarok, Odin attempted to trick the world-ash tree Yggdrasil into believing that Ragnarok had already happened. To do so, the Asgardians were to be transformed into mortals so that they would not be recognized as gods. Odin intended that Thor would restore the Asgardians to normal, but Seth accidentally prematurely activated the plan. Compounding the situation, Thor disappeared battling Onslaught and wound up on the new Counter-Earth created by Franklin Richards. By the time Thor returned to Earth, the Asgardians had managed to regain their identities, but were then captured by the Dark Gods. Ultimately, Thor rescued his people from the Dark Gods with the aid of Hercules and the Destroyer. After a paramedic named Jake Olson was slain during a battle between the Avengers and the Destroyer, Marnot, a servant of Odin, gave Thor Olson's form as a new identity. Although Thor could assume Olson's form, he had none of Olson's memories and thus found this identity to be troublesome for him. He also re-encountered Jane Foster while in this identity, and brief sparks were rekindled between them. Odin finally separated Olson from Thor, and Olson was allowed to return to his own life. After Odin fell in battle against Surtur, Asgard was left without a ruler. Thor eventually reluctantly accepted the throne and assumed his father's Odinpower, becoming much more powerful. Thor determined to restore the gods of Asgard to their former place on Earth as beings to be worshipped, merging Earth with Asgard to accomplish this end. Thor's increased activity on Earth resulted in a resurgence of followers for the Asgardians, and a Church of Thor soon emerged. Thor's willingness to fight for the lives of his followers ultimately set him against this fellow Avengers when he attempted to overthrow the government of Slokovia. Earth's citizens became increasingly wary of Thor, and the Consortium of Nations finally launched an assault upon Asgard that reduced it to rubble. From that point on, Thor devoted himself to Earth's conquest to bring order to humanity; he ruled Earth for nearly two hundred years. In that time, he married the Enchantress and she bore him a son, Magni. Thor finally came to realize that he had done wrong, and used a device created by Zarrko to travel back in time and prevent Asgard's destruction. He remerged his younger self with Jake Olson, to ensure that Olson's humanity would prevent his future from occurring in that timeline. Returning Asgard to its own realm, Thor was face with yet another Ragnarok threat when Loki teamed with Surtur using weapons created from the same forge from which Mjolnir was made. Determining that the gods above all gods known as Those Who Sit Above In Shadow had manipulated Asgard into the repeating cycle of Ragnarok, he sought them out and gave his life to destroy them. The Odinpower, having manifested itself as a young Asgardian, congratulated Thor on his final victory, the plan his father had always had for him. Thor's Return? Mjolnir returned to Earth, landing in a deserted field and inadverently freeing Doctor Doom from his extradimensional prison along the way. The hammer was claimed by a young man named D. Blake. A clone of Thor, codenamed "Project Lightning" was also released during a battle between pro and anti registration heroes. To the shock of both sides, he killed Bill Foster. Characteristics Height: 6'6" (1.98 m) Weight: 640 lbs (290 kg) Eyes: Blue Hair: Blond Unusual Features: No unusual features Powers Superhuman Strength: Thor, like all members of his race, is superhumanly strong. However, as the son of Odin and the Earth spirit, Gaea, Thor's strength is considerably greater than that of the vast majority of his race. He possesses vast superhuman strength enabling him to lift well in excess of 100 tons. The upper limits of his strength are unknown. Known Powers: Thor is the Norse god of Thunder, Lightning and Agriculture. Weather Control: Thor is the god of thunder and has control over the base elements of a storm, ie. rain, wind, thunder and lightning. He can create raging electrical storms complete with thunder, lightning, hurricane-force winds, tornadoes and torrential rains. He can also create any of these phenomena individually. Another aspect of this power allows him to stop any of these weather conditions as well. The powers are shown as being channeled through Mjolnir. *''Electrical Immunity: Thor also shows a good deal of immunity to the effects of lightning and electricity. '''Superhuman Speed': Thor possesses the superhuman ability to move at speeds up to 115 miles per hour. Via Mjolnir, he can fly at lightspeed. Superhuman Stamina: Thor's highly efficient musculature produces almost no fatigue toxins, granting him almost limitless stamina in all physical activities. Superhuman Durability: Thor's body is able to withstand extreme temperatures and pressures, and virtually all toxins, corrosives, punctures, and concussions without sustaining injury. His flesh and bones are several times denser than a human's. *''Disease Immunity: immune to all terrestrial diseases due to his god-like physical constitution. *Longevity: He is extremely long-lived (though not completely immune to aging) Thor also has access to other powers provided by Mjolnir. '''Odinforce': The sum total of Odin's power as the king of Asgard plus the power of his brothers Vili & Ve. The Odinforce enables him to tap into the near-infinite resources of cosmic and mystical, enhancing all of his abilities. With the vast magical power of the Odinforce, Thor was able to even dent Captain America’s shield with Mjolnir. During this time, Thor was able to teleport Asgard to the skies above New York City. Known Abilities: Thor is trained in the arts of war, being a superbly skilled warrior, highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat, swordsmanship, and hammer throwing. The Odinforce significantly increased Thor's powers as well as giving him roughly the same abilities that his father Odin and the previous Asgardian skyfathers possessed. During Ragnarok, Thor acquired knowledge and use of the Runes which granted him a number of potent magical spells. Thor also has extensive medical knowledge due to his years spent on Earth as Doctor Donald Blake and the EMT Jake Olsen. Miscellaneous Equipment: Formerly a belt of strength (Megingjard), gloves for holding Mjolnir, and a special armor when his bones were brittle due to a curse. Transportation: While on Asgard Thor employs a chariot using his goats, Toothgrinder and Toothsmasher. Weapons: The warhammer Mjolnir. Thor wields Mjolnir, a hammer forged from uru metal. Mjolnir is virtually unbreakable, and allows Thor to command the powers of the storm, causing rain, thunder and lightning. Thor can channel the storm’s fury into devastating blasts of energy that can destroy even secondary Adamantium. He can also channel his godly energies through Mjolnir into blasts so powerful that they can slay even immortals. Mjolnir can absorb other energies into itself, which Thor can then release. Mjolnir obeys Thor’s commands as though it were alive, and if Thor’s will is strong enough, the hammer can pass through nearly any barrier to reach him should he so desire. Using this command over Mjolnir’s flight path, Thor is able to use the hammer to fly, achieving escape velocities. Mjolnir can also transform Thor into his civilian guises. When Thor is a civilian, the hammer most often becomes an old wooden cane. While employing a mortal guise, Thor will transform back into his mortal form should he be separated from Mjolnir for more than 60 seconds. By spinning Mjolnir in a circle, Thor can open portals to other dimensions. Formerly, it also allowed him to travel in time, but Immortus removed this power. Enchantments surrounding Mjolnir prevent it from being wielded by anyone save those who have been found worthy. Thus far, this includes Thor, Odin, Tiwaz, Red Norvell, Beta Ray Bill, Superman & Wonder Woman (JLA/Avenger series) , and Captain America. To anyone else, Mjolnir cannot be lifted from the ground nor wrested from Thor’s grip. Notes & Trivia * Thor once became a Frog as a result of a curse. Related Articles * Asgard * Asgardians * Odin * Loki * Beta Ray Bill * Thunderstrike * Thor Girl * Red Norvell * Thor (Ultimate) Recommended Readings * Tales of Suspense #49 - Cameo Appearance as Doctor Donald Blake. * Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 - Cameo Appearance * Amazing Spider-Man #18 - Cameo Appearance * Essential Thor Vol. 1 * Thor: The Death of Odin TPB * Thor: Disassembled TPB See Also * Character Gallery: * Appearances of * Quotations by External Links *''Thor (Odinson) at the Guide to the Mythological Universe'' References * Marvel Directory ---- Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Asgardian Characters Category:Asgardians Category:Deities Category:Avengers members Category:Thor Corps members Category:Silver Age Category:Male Characters